


I Want You To Be Okay

by chronicAngel



Series: Leaves in the Summer [23]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Chuunin Exams, Episode 35: The Scroll's Secret: No Peeking Allowed, F/M, Guilt, POV Third Person, SasuSaku Week 2018, Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 11:20:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14019162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chronicAngel/pseuds/chronicAngel
Summary: Her eyes are so soft, and he doesn't think anyone has looked at him with so much concern since his mother died.SasuSaku Week 2018 Day 7: Free Choice





	I Want You To Be Okay

"Hey Sasuke! The fire's ready to light! I could really use one of your fireballs!"

He narrows his eyes at Naruto for a second as he hears Sakura yell and then huffs, turning away. "Tch. I have to do everything around here..." He leaves Naruto behind to collect the fish, stomping toward the area they have set up camp in. They've been recuperating for two days and Sasuke has felt nothing but overwhelmed besides, perhaps, annoyance with Sakura's coddling. They haven't told Naruto about the incident with the Oto genin team, him because he doesn't want to deal with Naruto and Sakura likely because she's worried about the idiot, but he's not sure she could be any more obvious that something happened.

The first thing he notices when he gets back to camp is the fire crackling in front of Sakura, who holds her hands out in front of her to warm them. "You don't have to be so mean to him," she says without even looking up, and if she were anyone else, he would suspect that she was scolding him. He still scowls at her, crossing his arms and waiting for her to get to the point.

"I can only assume you want something," he prompts after a minute. He almost smirks at the way that her face heats up, but catches it in time. He doesn't need her to know how much attention he's really paying to her.

"Sit down. We don't have long before Naruto comes back with the fish." He rolls his eyes but does as she says, sitting on the ground across from her and the fire with more force than necessary. His tailbone protests, but he ignores it.

She scoots closer to him on her knees, but he doesn't flinch away until she's at his side and lifting her hand to his neck, expression filled with concern. He had almost forgotten about the mark, and wishes she would as well. She drops her hand without question, but her eyes meet his and he could swear time freezes for a second. Her eyes are so soft, and he doesn't think anyone has looked at him with so much concern since his mother died.

Sakura's eyes aren't wide and bright like they normally are when she stares at him, begging for his attention-- his _approval_ \-- in a way that always sickeningly reminds him of the way he used to follow his father and brother around. It looks as though her light has been smothered by something close enough to concern that he feels anger brewing in his gut and tears his eyes away from hers, staring into the fire. "What do you want?" He says again, gritting his teeth in the attempt to bite back the annoyance in his tone. What right does she have to pity him, anyway? She's just a stupid, besotted preteen girl who follows him around preening when she should be training. She's worse than Naruto in a lot of ways, although if she dedicated the time she spends trying to make herself look good to training, he might actually be interested in her, not that he'd ever tell her that.

"I want you to be okay," she says honestly after a minute, voice pulling him out of his own thoughts despite how quiet and gentle it is. It's actually sort of jarring, as when he thinks of Sakura, the words _quiet_ and _gentle_ never really come to mind. She's kind, sure, and she knows when to keep her mouth shut unlike a certain blond idiot he could name, but there's a fire to her that's always made her slightly less insufferable in his mind. He wonders if he's the one who put it out, and it makes guilt join the general annoyance he has been feeling. "I know Naruto will be fine, but--"

It's the wrong thing to say. "What makes you think there's anything that _idiot_ can handle that I can't?"

She's clearly startled by the legitimate anger in his tone, pulling her hand back from where it has been hovering near his neck. Her eyes are wide now, but it's still not in the same way that he's used to and he scowls at the way it makes his gut twist. Then, that same horrible pity flickers in her gaze for just a second and he's about to explode when she says, inflection even softer than before, "I'm sorry."

It kills any anger he was harboring, somehow. He would think that she didn't even know what she was apologizing for if she didn't stare at her feet so sadly, and he hates-- really  _hates_ \-- the way that it makes him wonder if he's not the one who doesn't know what she's apologizing for. The severity of her voice despite how quiet it is tells him that it's probably for more than he realizes. He hates the uncertainty.

He realizes, bitterly, that he's been reading her wrong. It's not pity in her gaze when she looks at him, not an empty empathy for the mile long list of injustices he's suffered that she doesn't know a thing about. It's guilt. What for, he can't be certain-- whether it's because she's upset him now or some time in the past, or else because she feels that she's failed him in some way (he feels uncomfortable at this possibility and dismisses it for his own selfish reassurance)-- but he is sure that's what it is. Crushing his pride down, he refuses to look at her as he attempts to be comforting. "Tch. You have nothing to apologize for," he offers, and knows it's not enough.

She stops looking so sad, though, and it makes his stomach do a little flip that he does his best to ignore. He doesn't offer her a fake smile the way he knows Naruto would, simply straightens a little and lets her eyes search for his even as he pointedly avoids her gaze. "Hey you two! Why are you sitting so close?!" Naruto yells, voice outraged, dropping one of the fish lazily on the ground as he lifts an arm to point indignantly between them. Sasuke himself had forgotten how close Sakura was, really only inches away, but it doesn't matter because she squeaks and jumps away, the ends of her qipao fluttering startlingly close to the fire. Naruto stomps over to them and proceeds to rant for an hour, but Sakura is uncharacteristically quiet, watching Sasuke like an observer until he finally breaks the silence in an out-of-character move while they're eating.


End file.
